I have three questions about winemaking:

1) I have a book of wine recipies, which for some of the fruit wine suggests
adding a wineglass of brandy to the secondary "if desired". Why would I
desired this? What will it do to the wine?

2) I have read that when metabisulphide tablets are dissolved in water, the
solution can be kept for later use. Can it be kept indefinitely, or does the
solution get weaker over time?

3) Another winemaking book I have says that one should not give up on a wine
too quickly, and that once the author threw out a batch, only to discover a
few years later that a bottle that hadn't been thrown out tasted wonderful.
How many years should I keep a wine I don't like before I give up on it
completely?

My first-ever batch of plum wine is delicious, and I haven't even bottled it
yet.

Geoff,
North Loburn,
New Zealand

--
Burn the land and boil the sea,
You can't take the sky from me.

"Geoff McCaughan" > wrote in message
...
> I have three questions about winemaking:
>
> 1) I have a book of wine recipies, which for some of the fruit wine
suggests
> adding a wineglass of brandy to the secondary "if desired". Why would I
> desired this? What will it do to the wine?

I have not seen that one and, like you, I see not reason to do it and can
think of several to not do it. a) it is expensive, b) it could cause a
stuck frement, and c) it would chang the taste.

>
> 2) I have read that when metabisulphide tablets are dissolved in water,
the
> solution can be kept for later use. Can it be kept indefinitely, or does
the
> solution get weaker over time?
>
Limited shelf life. I would not use it more than a few months. In fact I
would not do it except as a sanitizing agent.

> 3) Another winemaking book I have says that one should not give up on a
wine
> too quickly, and that once the author threw out a batch, only to discover
a
> few years later that a bottle that hadn't been thrown out tasted
wonderful.
> How many years should I keep a wine I don't like before I give up on it
> completely?

Very true. It depends on you stroage capacity. We all have stories about
wines that we kept and they turned out great. I have kept bad wines for up
to 8 years before they became good. I have also thrown wines out after 2
years. It depends a lot on what fault the wine is exhibiting.

>
> My first-ever batch of plum wine is delicious, and I haven't even bottled
it
> yet.
>
> Geoff,
> North Loburn,
> New Zealand
>
> --
> Burn the land and boil the sea,
> You can't take the sky from me.
Sorry but they can. The night sky is gone due to light pollution and the
day sky is lessened by regular pollution. Maybe it seemed true when it was
written.

Ray > wrote:

>> Geoff,
>> North Loburn,
>> New Zealand
>>
>> --
>> Burn the land and boil the sea,
>> You can't take the sky from me.
> Sorry but they can. The night sky is gone due to light pollution and the
> day sky is lessened by regular pollution. Maybe it seemed true when it was
> written.

Maybe the night sky is gone where you live, but not where I live. Sometimes
I come home late on a clear night and the view of the milky way and
magellanic clouds overhead is just stunning.

Anyway the "You can't take the sky from me" phrase in the context it was
written referred to flying rather than viewing.

--
Burn the land and boil the sea,
You can't take the sky from me.

That seems odd to me too, but the only reason I can think of is that
most fruits are naturally low in sugar. You need somewhere between 9
and 10% alcohol by volume if you want the alcohol to act as a natural
preservative. Maybe that is the idea, most brandies are around 40%
ABV. Now a glass in 5 gallons (Imp or US) won't do much, but 6 ounces
in 122 or 154 may.

Old timers around here use old whiskey barrels to make grape wines;
some use no sulfite and do not rinse the barrel. It's my undestanding
there is about a gallon of whiskey left in the staves if you do that,
they consider it a preservative that adds 'kick'. To be honest, I
have never liked a wine made this way, it's _unusual_...

Regards,
Joe


> > 1) I have a book of wine recipies, which for some of the fruit wine
> suggests
> > adding a wineglass of brandy to the secondary "if desired". Why would I
> > desired this? What will it do to the wine?
>
> I have not seen that one and, like you, I see not reason to do it and can
> think of several to not do it. a) it is expensive, b) it could cause a
> stuck frement, and c) it would chang the taste.